I felt guilty looking at those names. Why them and not me? This wasn't my daddy's war. This was my war. These were my contemporaries. They fought and died. I lucked out.

We have put Vietnam behind us now. Today we have Lebanon, Libya and Central America. But thank God this thing, this monument, is here. Maybe before we commit ourselves to another unwinnable war, realizing it's unwinnable only after we've spent 50,000 American lives, someone who can prevent such a thing will visit this monument and take notice of the names and feel their ghosts.